Sabrina Kennedy has released her debut EP Wheel Of The Year. The four-song debut EP is a glimpse into Sabrina’s life living through the Wiccan calendar of the same name, which pre-dates our own. Journeying through the different seasons of her life, Wheel Of The Year showcases her artistic versatility which proves a force to be reckoned with.
Sabrina celebrates the EP release today with a headline show at The Grace in London this evening. To also mark the occasion, she has released the video for new single ‘Red Wine’.
‘Red Wine’ features empowering lyrism and is a dynamic representation of Sabrina’s vocals. On first listen, ‘Red Wine’ could be a drinking-to-forget tune, but on deeper examination it addresses red wine as a symbol of sex, death and bleeding, as revealed by the song’s video, set in a grand church, where “the demons have got your head and the angels have gone to bed,” as Sabrina sings in the song. ‘Red Wine’ represents the autumn equinox and Halloween, tapping into this with haunting R&B and gospel before exploding with a rock crescendo.
Regarding the single Sabrina says, “Other than my love for red wine, this song was bred from the confides of my flat during the dark time the world was facing in lockdown. I delved into the darkest parts of my soul channelling the divine feminine energy that is Mary Magdalene, the misunderstood whore. ‘Red Wine’ is the direct relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus - two lost souls just trying to get by.”
The Wheel Of The Year EP opens with previous single ‘Puritan’, which evokes the spring equinox and its former ritual sacrifices that pre-dated Easter. Among its dark R&B laced pop Sabrina declares “you can burn me at the stake like a Puritan.” A powerful statement about the lengths she’s willing to go to defend her right to be herself.
The ‘Puritan’ video was made in homage to the witch trials of the 1600s and finds Sabrina being burnt at the stake. It has been filmed on King Edwards Bay in Newcastle, home to the beaches that played host some of the earliest witch trials and executions in history dating back to the 1650s.
Elsewhere on the EP is ‘Magic & Mayhem’, with all the exuberance and energy of summer solstice, a bold pop rock track where punchy punk riffs pair with Sabrina’s grand vocals delivering spellbinding melodies and magnetic hooks. ‘Overflow’ completes the EP with an expansive pop ballad evoking a sense of Sia grandeur and represents the winter solstice.
WHEEL OF THE YEAR EP TRACK LISTING
- Puritan
- Magic & Mayhem
- Red Wine
- Overflow
FURTHER INFORMATION ON SABRINA KENNEDY
Witchcraft pulsates through Sabrina’s psyche, her life and music. Her identification as a witch has little to do with casting spells and issuing curses, however. In fact, it sees Sabrina celebrating the divine feminine and connection with natural and spiritual worlds.
Based in London, the Boston-born singer made many visits to nearby Salem throughout her childhood, which introduced her to all manner of alternative belief systems, as well as being “a place with a very peculiar energy” that she picked up on from an early age. Paganism, with its close connection to the power of mother nature, also held an attraction, as did tarot card reading.
Growing up on the US East Coast with adoptive Irish-Italian parents, she’s always looked beyond the obvious to embrace the role of outsider. She was later to meet her birth-mother - live on TV no less - and learn that her grandfather was Bajan.
Sabrina then moved to Nashville but realised after a while that her views put her directly at odds with some of the macho posturing still lurking in that music scene. She felt much more at home when she moved to London. Immersed in the city’s multi-genre tastes, she set to work building a band.
Her debut single ‘Hold Tight’, a tumultuous anthem about dealing with the trauma of her father’s death, was released in 2019. The introduction to Sabrina’s grand sound and songwriting was followed by ‘The Other Side’ in 2020, which further accentuated her captivating work with its crooked R&B further exploring her personal aura, “I’m a Gemini, no one wants to see my other side”, she sings.
Her music has made its way onto the soundtracks of Love Island and Made In Chelsea, while she was also quick to make a strong presence on the London live scene, performing at Notting Hill Arts Club, Off The Cuff, Laylow and Paper Dress Vintage.
Sabrina’s life as a modern-day witch has also been captured in an internationally revered and multi-award-winning short film Sabrina Kennedy Witch, Reborn, directed by Maria Shevtsova. The film has won awards with the Royal Society Of Television & Motion Picture, Singapore World Film Carnival, Indiex Film Fest Los Angeles among many others.
With the release of her debut EP Wheel Of The Year in 2023 she marks a defining new chapter in her captivating story with a diverse record reflecting the many different cultures, beliefs and sounds that influence her life and music.
RED WINE’ VIDEO RELEASED WATCH HERE